The present disclosure relates to a handheld clamp device for applying heat to a golf ball.
The game of golf is an increasingly popular sport at both the amateur and professional levels. A wide range of technologies related to the manufacture and design of golf balls are known in the art. Such technologies have resulted in golf balls with better performance and longer durability. However, golf balls nonetheless continue to suffer from several deficiencies.
For example, the cover layer of a golf ball will wear out and degrade over time due to repeated impacts with a golf club. Although materials used in the cover layer are generally resilient, the cover layer will eventually crack due to the blunt force of being hit by a golf club. The golf ball then exhibits less than optimal play characteristics, and the ball will ultimately become unusable. Amateur golfers generally prefer to minimize the costs of purchasing new golf balls. Therefore, a variety of methods and systems have been developed to repair the surface layer of a golf ball.
As another example, a golfer may be required to purchase several sets of golf balls in order to achieve different play characteristics. For example, different dimple patterns may affect the aerodynamic properties of the golf ball during flight, or a difference in hardness may affect the rate of backspin. A golfer may therefore wish to carry and use several sets of golf balls in order to achieve the desired play characteristics over the course of a round of golf. Namely, a golfer may use one type of golf ball for driving and another for putting. This presents an inconvenience to the golfer, as well as increased costs.
Both of the above discussed deficiencies can be addressed by applying heat to a golf ball. However, known methods and devices for applying heat to a golf ball are generally inadequate for a variety of reasons. For example, current methods for repairing golf balls with heat use equipment that is generally bulky and expensive. Such equipment generally cannot be used by a golfer, but is instead industrial scale machinery. Furthermore, known portable golf ball heaters merely warm a golf ball so as to protect from cold weather, and so generally do not attain sufficiently high temperatures to achieve the above discussed effects.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a system and method that addresses the shortcomings of the prior art discussed above.